Abstract
Understanding the biological foundations of language is vital to gaining insight into how the capacity for language may have evolved in humans. Animal models can be exploited to learn about the biological underpinnings of shared human traits, and although no other animals display speech or language, a range of behaviors found throughout the animal kingdom are relevant to speech and spoken language. To date, such investigations have been dominated by studies of our closest primate relatives searching for shared traits, or more distantly related species that are sophisticated vocal communicators, like songbirds. Herein I make the case for turning our attention to the Chiropterans, to shed new light on the biological encoding and evolution of human language-relevant traits. Bats employ complex vocalizations to facilitate navigation as well as social interactions, and are exquisitely tuned to acoustic information. Furthermore, bats display behaviors such as vocal learning and vocal turn-taking that are directly pertinent for human spoken language. Emerging technologies are now allowing the study of bat vocal communication, from the behavioral to the neurobiological and molecular level. Although it is clear that no single animal model can reflect the complexity of human language, by comparing such findings across diverse species we can identify the shared biological mechanisms likely to have influenced the evolution of human language.
Highlights
Understanding the biological foundations of language is vital to gaining insight into how the capacity for language may have evolved in humans
Language is not found in other animals, some aspects of social and vocal animal communication are likely to inform us about how this trait evolved (Fitch, Huber, & Bugnyar, 2010)
Vocal learning is an essential component of spoken language, and songbirds have been the dominant model used to study this trait, due to their well-defined learning paradigm, sexual dimorphism of their song, and the ability to breed these animals in captivity (Condro & White, 2014)
Summary
The comparative approach, investigating similar traits across diverse species, has been a driving force in understanding the genetics, physiology, and evolution of complex traits The study of such traits in experimental animal models has shed light on human-relevant processes involved in both normal development and disease states. We need to seek clues from a range of phylogenetically diverse species with language-relevant traits, exploiting both observational studies and, where possible, animal models amenable to laboratory studies. By integrating this information across species will we be able to build a picture of the essential components that would allow an organism to develop and employ spoken language. I discuss two facets of vocal communication that have relevance to human spoken language and for which bats show great promise: vocal learning and vocal turn-taking
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